Sports Venues

University of Wisconsin Stout:Johnson Field House Audio & Video Upgrades

UW Stout came to us with a couple of unique challenges. The first part of the project was to add video projectors and screens that they could use in conjunction with their basketball games and commencement – but since this is a large arena in constant use, they had to be out of the way and protected from all the sports equipment (and people!).

We decided to put two rear-projection screens on opposite corners, just outside of the main floor and next to the bleachers, but angled to give the best viewing to all people. The Eiki projectors went behind the screens in large protective cages from Chief, so they are both out of the way of the main basketball court and protected just in case someone is practicing off to the side, or there is a stray ball thrown.

The projectors and screen up / down are controlled with a basic Crestron 10-key panel, and the inputs and outputs all run through a Crestron DM switch, giving them room to expand to 4 screens / projectors and additional input locations in phase two.

The audio system was the next project. Their existing system was a ring of good quality speakers in the center, but they were mounted below the beams (so they were in the way for volleyball games) and not configured in a flexible enough way for them to use as the game speaker system and the commencement speaker system.

We first removed the existing speakers, and then installed 10 large-format Tannoy powered speakers throughout the space to cover the floor, sides and each bleacher section individually. These speakers are all mounted above the beams so are out of the way for volleyball – in fact they are hidden enough with black speakers on a black ceiling that they are a little difficult to pick out in the pictures!

The main processor is a Biamp Tesira system, which gives them full control over which speaker is on or off and also adjusts the level/settings of each individual speaker for different events – depending on if they are setup on one end of the facility or in the middle or announcing a game.

We also considered life safety with the system, and there is a general override on the power sequencer for the system so if the fire alarm is triggered, the sound system will shut down to allow people to hear the fire annunciator and clear the area.

The last piece of the system is a portable cart that allows them to plug in an external mixer for additional input channels for large events.

The overall goals of both the audio and video systems were flexibility and ease of use, and we believe we accomplished them both with the installations.